Dwarven Potluck Surprise
by Link Fangirl01
Summary: Everything ToS related that I couldn't make into a full-length story.  The first chapter is dedicated to Freaky, practical head of the fandom and the best dang author any of us knows.
1. Chapter 1

We all know Kratos almost kills Lloyd at the Tower of Salvation. This is my take on what might have happened if he'd dropped his sword and just given in to the parental instinct! This is also my best attempt at an oyako and a "revealing the father" sort of fic.

I ask of you my readers, to be kind in your reviews. Let not your critique be too harsh.

And please forgive my funky way of talking, I read too much.

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><p>He had raised a sword against his child, and that was bad enough. Now the newly-revealed angel stood above the worn-out teenager, holding his blade aloft. His whole arm trembled, but for the life of him, the betrayer could not <em>force<em> himself to bring it down.

But then…that wasn't really so surprising. What parent could harm his own child? Kratos let the sword drop, and fell to his knees with a *_thump_*.

"I'm sorry" he told Lloyd, reaching two purple-clad hands out to grasp the boy's shoulders. "I'm sorry, I can't do it."

Poor Lloyd was nonplussed. The mercenary's pulling him forward into an awkward embrace didn't help much.

"I knew you couldn't bring yourself to fight such an opponent" a new voice said scathingly; "but I admit I did not expect this." Lloyd looked up to see a man dressed in white and gold spandex with long blond hair cascading down his back. A pair of rainbow segmented wings protruded from said back. Kratos turned to look at the man with bitterness in his gaze.

"Yggdrasil" he said by way of greeting. The man scowled at him.

"That's _Lord _Yggdrasil" he spat. The auburn-haired angel snorted.

"I can no longer leave him alone" he said. (Lloyd wondered briefly who "he" was. Perhaps it was another angel? ) The mercenary pulled Lloyd to his feet and pushed him towards his friends. His eyes were apologetic and Lloyd knew from experience that if Kratos had tears to shed; they'd probably be pooling at the corner of his eyes right now.

The group made it successfully out of the tower with their former companion's help, little angel in tow. Colette hadn't done so much as blink (not even that) since releasing the final seal. She stared out at the landscape with a blank gaze; perhaps even going as far to say that it was a sad look she was surveying the world with. But one could never tell with soulless people.

A great explosion sounded from the Tower; and they swore the structure shook. A figure came out of the door shakily and promptly collapsed on the nearest patch of grass.

Now Lloyd _knew_ the man had just betrayed them; and there were some increasingly conflicting emotions stirring in his chest. But the honest to goodness, dare he say _loving_ embrace was on the forefront of his mind today and was thus the driving force behind his actions.

"KRATOS!" The brunette bolted forward before anyone could think to stop him and had a gauntleted arm slung over his, noticeably smaller, shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Raine asked urgently. "He betrayed us, just leave him!" Sheena was much inclined to agree. Genis however, was busy thinking on their encounter with the kunoichi in Luin. Lloyd had seen good intentions in a woman previously out of for his blood and advocated for her healing. It was impossible for his friend to leave anyone behind, especially those who proved to have kind hearts under a most unpleasant façade.

"Let's just take him" the little mage said with a sort of resigned sigh. "You know Lloyd won't leave him behind. Besides, when he wakes up, you can interrogate him about being a member of Cruxis." Lloyd smiled thankfully at his friend before turning to stare at his professor defiantly. His gaze seemed to dare her to challenge this most infallible logic.

Something she seemed unable to do. The half-elf merely sighed and charged Lloyd with the task of carrying their unconscious enemy. The brunette did so willingly. There was a House of Salvation nearby and there the group stopped to rest. Lloyd dumped Kratos in the nearest bed with a sigh and stood up to stretch his aching back. Several bones popped audibly back into place, Sheena winced.

"So what do we do?" he asked, rolling his shoulders to get rid of excess pain. The black-haired ninja jabbed a thumb at the unconscious mercenary.

"That's kind of up to you" she replied. The brunette blanched. Raine was busy examining their captive's wounds. They didn't look fatal by any means, _probably because he's an angel_ she mused, but they were likely to keep him down for a while. Lloyd decided his first course of action was, again, to advocate for an enemy's healing.

"Professor…?" The half-elf sighed.

"I will never understand your reasoning" she said, holding her staff out in front. "_Healing Stream!" _The blemishes marring Kratos' face vanished within the glowing mana and his visible eye squinted. A muffled grunt issued from his mouth before the angel began to wake. Lloyd was at his side almost instantly.

"Kratos?" The mercenary opened a bleary russet eye.

"Where am I?"

"At a House of Salvation reasonably close to the Tower" Raine informed him. "Lloyd carried you here." The man's brow furrowed.

"Why?"

"That's what we'd like to know" she grumped, turning to inspect Genis for injuries. (The younger mage did indeed have a collection of bruises decorating his lower back.) The elder half-elf cast First Aid and turned to Lloyd.

"Care to explain?" The brunette was busy fishing a mélange gel from his pack. He tossed the medicine from hand to hand, as though debating whether pain was better than explaining his actions.

"It was a feeling" he said finally, and would not elaborate. Raine gave it up as a bad job and went on to healing Sheena. Night would fall soon and the six of them could not all fit in that room. Kratos was still too weak to move from his bed, so he was out. Genis much preferred staying with his sister, so they moved downstairs. After a bit of consideration, Sheena joined them, tugging the unresponsive Colette with her.

These arrangements worked in Lloyd's favor, as nervous as staying in the same room as Kratos made him. The mercenary courteously looked in another direction while his son undressed. The brunette cleared his throat when he was done, sitting cross-legged in a loose muscle shirt and boxers. His father shifted again to look at him.

"Why did you save me?" Lloyd looked to the side unhappily, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

"I don't know… It's just; you looked like you really regretted betraying us. And, you didn't kill me." _You hugged me instead._

"I'm your enemy" Kratos pointed out blatantly. Lloyd snorted.

"Do enemies usually hug the people they're supposed to kill and then apologize? No. You saved our necks Kratos, don't give me that bull." The angel glared, his son wasn't fazed.

"Why don't _you_ explain why you didn't kill me?" the boy retorted. Kratos clamped down and refused to answer. "I can keep this up all night" the brunette needled. "And you've got nothing to do but listen."

"You ought to be asleep" the auburn head growled. Lloyd shrugged.

"A sleepless night won't kill me. I've pulled all-nighters for less." The mercenary heaved a defeated sigh.

"I have my reasons."

"Kratos…if you think that's supposed to satisfy me; you are _sadly_ mistaken." The man growled again.

"You won't like what you hear; you won't like it at all."

"You don't know that."

_I do, actually_ Kratos thought with a wry grin. Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"You" the other answered, and let out a deep chuckle. The brunette mussed his hair with a sigh.

"I don't get you sometimes." He walked to a nearby mirror (conveniently propped against the wall), intent on getting some necessary before-bed tasks done. He stepped back a moment later and staggered to his bed. Kratos gave him a concerned look.

"Lloyd?" The brunette turned to face him.

His messed-up hairdo (all over the place, with some falling in his eyes) was freakishly similar to Kratos'. The man swallowed.

"Why?" The mercenary found he had no answer.

"Lloyd, I-"

"_Why do I look like you?"_

"I'm sorry. You…weren't supposed to find out." Lloyd slumped on his bed, grasping his mussed hair tightly. _ This is so messed up._

"Kratos, you're not really 28 are you?" The angel shook his slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The man heaved a sigh.

"Because I knew you were going to hate me, thus there was little point. I didn't want you caught up in this in the first place; knowing who I was would only make it harder." The teenager sitting across from him shook his head exasperatedly.

"If you'd told me, it would've been easier. If I found out after…_this,_ which was bound to happen eventually, accepting it would be that much harder. Martel knows how my resentment may have grown." Kratos chuckled dryly.

"Where did this wisdom come from?" Lloyd stuck an impish tongue out.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, you really are…aren't you?" The teen asked with some trepidation. "You're my D-"

Of course, the mercenary could not deny it. The brunette contemplated the man he now knew to be his parent. After several such minutes of this, during which the angel feared Lloyd was angry and denying their relationship…the son moved from his bed to sit next to his father's.

"So" he began. "You didn't _really_ think I was going to be a burden on the journey…did you?" Kratos laughed slightly and moved a hand to ruffle his son's hair. The boy was thrown on a nostalgia rush by the simple gesture; the most prominent memory being their training session near the Triet ruins. _So that's why it felt so familiar… _

"Of course not" his father was saying, running bare fingers through the nest of brown hair. "I wanted you to be safe, and the best way was for you to stay home. Or…so I thought." The teenager winced.

"Even if I truly thought such things" the angel continued, "you proved clearly that you were no hindrance. Lloyd, I-…I'm proud of you." The boy leaned into his father's touch, smiling softly.

"Thanks Dad." _I love you too._

* * *

><p>Me loveth the semicolon. Such a useful tool it is.<p>

**Freaky, if you're reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have been my inspiration for ToS fics since the day I first found the archives_.__ And so, I dedicate this oneshot to you._**

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><p>Review?<p> 


	2. Moments

**I came up with these drabbles during the 7 months I spent playing Tales of Symphonia. (Yes, it took me that long to beat it. I have an obsession with over-leveling.) Some of them I imagined happening during the game, some of them were based off my own experiences. (Like the scenario in "Word Vomit" Sis had a field day with that.)**

**Teh bonus was taken from my session of DotNW last night. I had to release a wolf so I could add a bat to my team. T_T**

**And no, I don't know why some titles aren't underlined. Blame the site.**

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><p><strong>Manners<strong>

A loud sound of disgust was prominent in the tiny campsite. Lloyd grinned unrepentantly, pulling the fish (now devoid of any meat) back out. Genis made a terrific facepalm.

"You're disgusting Lloyd."

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><p><strong><span>By a hair<span>**

"Colette!" The blonde Chosen felt her breath leave in a feeble squeak as one of Meltokio's speeding carriages made its way past her by a hairsbreadth. The girl stumbled backwards into her friend's arms.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked. She nodded shakily.

"Y-yeah…I'm fine."

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><p><strong><span>A child's mind<span>**

"Colette…" 5-year old Lloyd asked his new friend. "Where's your mommy?" The tiny Chosen had been escorted to school by her father and grandmother.

"Mommy died when I was born" the blond answered a bit sadly. Her brunette companion gasped.

"Did she get shot…?"

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><p><strong><span>Epic fail<span>**

"Hey Genis?" Lloyd asked his friend, crouching by the side of a dirt road. (They were taking a quick break after a not-so-difficult battle.) "How do you fail at making a sandwich?" The half-elf looked sadly at the slap of beef lying in the dust.

"Very carefully"

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><p><strong>Keep your mouth shut<strong>

"Oof!" Raine grunted, being shunted aside by another eager scientist in Sybak's Imperial Research Academy. "These people…their enthusiasm borders on insanity."

"Don't you get crazy about your ruins?" Lloyd asked, sticking his head in a nearby room. The half-elf professor whacked him with her staff.

"You need to shut up more" she snapped. The brunette rubbed his head, scowling.

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><p><strong><span>Handbag full o' rainbows<span>**

"I've come to a conclusion about this place" Lloyd said, looking around the Palmacosta human ranch.

"What's that?" Genis asked sarcastically, preparing himself for a stupid response.

"Magnius is gay."

It came as no surprise when their gales of laughter bought Desians from all directions.

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><p><strong>Medicine<strong>

"Now come on Lloyd" a teenaged Raine coaxed her elementary student. "It won't bite, it's just to help with your cough." The little boy backed up against the wall, wailing.

"No!" he screamed. "NO! I hate medicine!" His teacher (in this case, doctor) proffered it again.

"Just lick it" she offered. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it." This seemed a reasonable deal in the child's eyes. He stuck his tongue out and gave the gel a tentative lick.

"It's not so bad…" he conceded, and ate the medicine whole.

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><p><strong><span>Intimidation<span>**

"Never stood a chance" Kratos growled, sheathing his dagger after a mild battle. Lloyd eyed the flourish with distaste.

"It's somehow…not as intimidating." The mercenary gave him a flat glare.

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><p><strong><span>New places, new faces!<span>**

"_Lloyd" _the group admonished as one. "Calm _down_." But the brunette swordsman did not halt in his mad dash around Asgard.

"It's so cool!" he crowed, racing up one staircase and across a weatherworn arch. "Look at the inns, they have _3! And they're posh!_"

Raine let him go on account of being able to use the word "posh" in a sentence.

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><p><strong><span>Value<span>**

"Rice is supposed to be rare and expensive, right?" Lloyd asked. Raine dug through a nearby thief's pockets.

"Compared to its barley counterpart" she answered. The brunette looked at their inventory list perplexedly.

"Then why do we keep finding more rice than we can carry? I've barely seen any of the barley mix." The professor paused in her searching.

"I…don't know. But that is an excellent question Lloyd!"

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><p><strong><span>Reasoning<span>**

"I was told you had a good sense of direction" Kratos remarked in an offhand voice, glancing at the mountains around them. Lloyd wiped sand off his swords for the umpteenth time.

"I do" he replied, pulling a sheath free and giving it a good shake. A large amount of sand came pouring out. "I have to, to keep living in the forest."

"Then explain why we are heading in the _opposite _direction of the Triet Ruins" the mercenary inquired frostily.

"Because fighting monsters makes good practice" his son answered, replacing the sword and securing both blades to his waist. "We'd be dead meat with no experience." Kratos' eyes widened a bit, before a smile overtook his features.

_Seems I've underestimated him._

* * *

><p><strong><span>Concern<span>**

The cockatrice struck again, succeeding in freezing Lloyd as an airborne statue. Kratos swung 'round in time to see his petrified son crash to the ground

"_Lloyd!_" The purple-clad mercenary covered several yards in seconds; pulling a panacea bottle from somewhere. He administered the potion swiftly, a sudden cough telling him Lloyd was back to normal.

"T-thanks" the teenager wheezed, getting to his feet. The older swordsman snorted, hiding his concern.

"Just be more careful."

* * *

><p><strong>Word vomit<strong>

"Pay attention!" Raine snapped, hitting both male students with her staff during an impromptu lesson. They cried out in unison before turning back to the books with a sulky air.

"Sorry Genis" Lloyd whispered, as it was his fault they'd been caught. "I'm no good for you."

Genis snorted, spraying the textbook with saliva. The snorts quickly escalated into a full-scale laughing fit.

"That's not how it was supposed to come out!" Lloyd yelped, his face flushing a brilliant red. "I meant I'm a distraction!" His protests hardly mattered as the half-elf only laughed harder.

The brunette groaned, grabbing a book and burying his face in it. "Ugh..."

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><p><strong>Trickster<strong>

"Hey Seles!" a young Zelos called, running to their spot in the garden. The younger redhead looked up.

"What is it, brother?" she asked, standing up to look at her sibling's covered hands. Zelos shoved a plastic spider at her.

"Look!" The little girl screamed and dropped her flowers, running towards the house.

"Sebastiaaaan, Zelos is being mean!" The redheaded chosen followed, chuckling to himself.

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><p><strong><span>Remembering the good times<span>**

Genis knocked lightly on the Brunel's door, the night before Colette left. The blonde herself opened it.

"Hi Genis!" she chirped, smiling. "What do you need?" The little mage handed her a small red _something, _with a tuft of brown at its top.

"To keep you company" he said with a slightly sad grin. She took it, gasping. The silver-haired boy patted her arm.

"You'll miss Lloyd most of all" he stated. "This should help. Happy Birthday Colette."

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><p><strong><span>Lasting impressions<span>**

Perhaps it was the companionable feelings left over from their recent journey together, but part of Lloyd was happy to see Kratos when the angel met them on Fooji's top. It felt like things hadn't changed when the angel cleverly prodded the boy's buttons, getting him to say "I'll change this twisted world!"

Not that he would ever _admit_ it of course…

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><p><strong>Straight cracker pride<strong>

"Sorry" the redheaded male said condescendingly. "I'm not interested in talking to guys." Lloyd snorted, giving the man's outfit a critical look.

"You could've fooled me."

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><p><strong>To be young...and foolish<strong>

Lloyd, being the incorrigible boy he was, wouldn't leave Mizuho until he'd flipped himself in the chief's house a dozen times. Raine's ailing protest died on her lips when Genis followed his friend's example with a whoop.

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><p><strong><span>Nature's playground<span>**

Colette tripped with a squeal, sliding belly-first down the natural stone walkway in Ozette. Lloyd slid down after her, rushing to help the blonde up.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over for any sign of injury. She giggled and nodded, brushing moss off her front.

"Let's do that again!"

* * *

><p><strong>A million reasons<strong>

"What was that for?" Lloyd asked his father perplexedly. The angel pulled his arm back, where a second before, it had been wrapped firmly about his son's shoulders.

"No reason" he said with a slight smile. The brunette shrugged and went back to his carving. Kratos gazed at his child for another moment, before turning away.

"Or a million reasons" he whispered, closing the door with a _**click**__._

* * *

><p><strong>Stupidity<strong>

"Don't you pay attention at _all_?" Raine asked, holding her head exasperatedly. "Water conducts electricity!" Lloyd scrambled out of the ankle-high water, electric sparks crawling through his hair.

"I-I knew that!" he blustered, attempting to flatten the brown spikes. "I just…forgot."

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><p><strong>Blatant immaturity<strong>

The lightning-lit pathways in Volt's temple were difficult to traverse indeed; but Raine couldn't help feeling that Lloyd's continuing slip-ups were entirely…_accidental_. His echoing laughter through the exit chute may have had something to do with it.

* * *

><p><strong>Bad driving<strong>

"Steer Lloyd, _steer!_" the group howled as one, clinging to their seats. The brunette spun the EC's steering wheel frantically, the vehicle bouncing off another rock in Flanoir's snowy maze of fjords.

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><p><strong>Odd amusements<strong>

Genis crowded on the tiny platform elevator with his best friend and sister, snickering as Lloyd's neck ribbons went up and down opposite of gravity. One managed to snake across his face, causing the mage to erupt in a shrill laughing fit.

"It tickles!"

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><p><strong>Recklessness<strong>

Lloyd, (and they really should have seen this coming), was having far too much fun with the newly-acquired Rheairds. The brunette had gone into a wild series of aerial tricks the instant they came out of the base's airspace.

Genis, despite all his knowledge, was not possessed of a fully mature personality.

"Barrel roll!" he shouted. "Lloyd, _do a barrel roll!_" The brunette behaved accordingly, even going so far as to let his hands hang free when the machine rolled over.

* * *

><p><strong>Splurging<strong>

"You do realize you're bleeding us dry, right?" Genis asked. Lloyd handed another sack of gald to the clerk in Altamira's luxurious hotel, receiving a dandy pair of swords in return.

"Don't care!"

* * *

><p><strong>Run stupid, run!<strong>

"Where are they coming from?" Lloyd howled, running from a combination of clay golems, earth elements, and a Neviros.

"Less talk, more running!" Genis yelled, shoving his friend towards the trail exit.

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><p><strong>Uncaring<strong>

"The one you have thought of…" the fortune teller murmured, hands running over the crystal ball. "-has little to no faith in you. Why don't you just give up?" Lloyd hung his head.

_Zelos…I thought we were friends. I thought you believed in me._

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><p><strong>Finding fun in every situation<strong>

Lloyd went sailing past a jutting rock, snagging it in time to swing himself around and slide in a different direction.

"_Lloyd!_" Raine barked. "We are not here to mess around!"

"But Professor…!" the brunette wheedled, kicking off from another stone. "If we don't experiment, we'll never find the way to Celcius' chamber!"

"He's right you know" Zelos agreed, sliding casually past. "C'mon _Professor_, let the kid have his fun." Raine pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Just don't take too long."

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><p><strong><span>Homesickness<span>**

Raine was very understanding when the kids burst into tears at the sight of Palmacosta. She wrapped her arms about their shoulders, pulling the trio into a hug.

"I know" the mage crooned. "I was homesick too."

* * *

><p><strong>In memory<strong>

"We don't have time for this…" Raine said halfheartedly, watching her pupil scratch away at a large rock.

"Botta and those Renegades sacrificed themselves for us" Lloyd snapped, working doggedly to make a decent gravestone. "This is the least I can do for them."

* * *

><p><strong>It just followed me home!<strong>

"No!" Lloyd snapped, waving vainly at the fragment of shadow in a "go away" gesture. "Go back and wait there! There! Oh for the love of Martel-!"

The smoky blob refused, nuzzling against the swordsman's leg and looking for all the world like a loving pet. Lloyd gave the bizarre creature a halfhearted pat.

"Maaaan…"

* * *

><p><strong><span>Remembering<span>**

"Here" Genis said, holding a curiously carved ocarina to Mithos. "It's not the same as your sister's…but I thought it might help." The blond took it with trembling hands.

_Martel…_ he held the instrument close, smiling.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Puppycat?<span>**

Colette's dog-naming streak showed itself again at a House of Salvation near Triet. Lloyd watched her play with an amused smile.

Her names varied in levels of oddity; but he to admit that naming the Dalmation "Kitty" of all things was the weirdest yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Regret<strong>

"I-I don't know how to thank you!" the blonde woman said, touching her face as though she couldn't believe it was real. "I've finally returned to my original form!"

The group smiled and told her they were just glad she was okay. From a distance, an auburn-haired man watched with sorrow in his heart.

_Anna…if only I had known…_

* * *

><p><strong>Strays<strong>

Unlike Lloyd, Colette found the fragments of Shadow to be positively adorable. The chipper blonde managed to get 3 of the little blobs to follow her, giggling as they swarmed about her legs.

* * *

><p><strong>Muscle strain<strong>

All members were ready to scream in agony by the time they left the Darkness Temple. Zelos plopped down on the grass and immediately began ministering to his sore calves.

"Never again" he moaned. "So many _stairs…!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Not again!<strong>

"We have to walk all the way up?" the redheaded Chosen whined, looking at the home of the Summon Spirits of Light. Lloyd patted his arm, grinning.

"At least you had practice in the Temple of Darkness" he chirped. "This'll be nothing." Zelos let his head drop.

"Great…"

* * *

><p><strong>Confusion<strong>

Nobody expected, or had even barely _anticipated_ seeing the mercenary-gone-Cruxis angel waiting for them at the warp. They didn't expect him to order them to stop making pacts either.

What puzzled Lloyd most, however, wasn't Kratos' appearance or even the desperation-tinged warning he gave.

It was the flare of warmth that flooded the boy's chest when he saw him.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Flight<span>**

_"This is so COOL!" _the brunette crowed, grabbing a passing hawk's talon. The bird flew over the bridges of Ymir forest, its passenger laughing all the way.

* * *

><p><strong>Unnatural<strong>

"Professor?" Lloyd bawled, running from the Plantix' ramage. "Is it normal for plants to have ribcages and skulls!"

"Why can't you ask this sort of thing during school?" she snapped, finishing a spell with a flourish and hitting the monster with a well-aimed Photon. "Just attack!"

* * *

><p><strong><span>Nice view<span>**

"I know we're not here to sightsee" the dual swordsman began, looking up at the dome of Welgaia. "But this is actually pretty cool."

* * *

><p><strong>Look out!<strong>

Nobody, least of all his 'bud', could resist laughing when Zelos floated his way into an unfeeling metal wall.

"I'm sorry!" the red-clad swordsman guffawed. "But you had that coming!"

* * *

><p><strong>Losing a friend<strong>

"NO!" Lloyd yelled, gripping Zelos' hand firmly as he felt the swordsman slip away. "Please Zelos, don't die. I've lost enough on this journey, I don't want to lose you too."

Deep in the recesses of his fading consciousness, the redhead heard his friend's voice and smiled.

_Heh… I guess they like me after all._

* * *

><p><strong>Landmarks<strong>

The group paused in their journey, intent on meeting with Neil at the Eastern Ranch. Lloyd peered interestedly off a cliff southeast of Palmacosta.

"That tower…what is it?" Raine hurried over and almost threw herself off the cliff in her excitement.

"It's the Tower of Mana, designed as a viewing point for the Tower of Salvation and home to the most notable spellbooks of our day!" She scrabbled towards the edge, intent on reaching the far off landmark. "Let go, Genis!"

The younger half-elf refused, keeping an iron grip on his sister's coat and hauling back with everything he had.

"I can't!" he bawled. "You can't swim!"

* * *

><p><strong>Think before you act<strong>

His boy was putting on a brave face, but Kratos would have had to been a fool not to see the tears gathering in the teen's eyes. The angel paused, one foot on the glowing stairs leading to the top of the Tower's ruins.

Lloyd could take care of himself, he knew that. The brunette didn't necessarily need his father in his life. But needing and wanting are two different things, and if Kratos couldn't see that, then two lives were about to be brutally ripped apart.

* * *

><p><em>Bonus:<em>

**Gotta let go sometime**

"What do you mean I have to let a monster go?" Emil asked, looking fearfully at Tenebrae. The Centurion bowed his head.

"I'm sorry, Lord Emil. A Knight of Ratatosk may only keep 4 monsters at any time; it damages the mind to keep control over any more." The blond gazed at his group sadly, one hand absently stroking the bat who wished to join them. He heaved a sigh.

"Podsol, would you come here please?" The tiny wolf slunk forward with a whine. Emil released the bat (who flew off to perch on Marta's shoulder) to fondly scratched the pup behind his ears.

"You've been great" he told the animal quietly, sliding a hand around to rub the furry neck. "But I…I can't have two of the same type. I'm sorry…" The wolf lowered his head sadly. Emil turned to petting his companion's back, giving the scrawny little monster an awkward sort of hug.

G-goodbye Podsol. Be careful, okay?" The wolf licked his former master's cheek and trotted off. Jord whined piteously. Marta patted their remaining wolf's head.

"I know Jord, I'll miss him too."

* * *

><p><strong>Welp, I've been working on that for months on end. I hope you found it reasonably enjoyable. xD<strong>


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